News > POA

Blatter slams Egypt ‘political interference’ Back To Main

The News correspondent

ASUNCION: FIFA president Sepp Blatter has slammed ‘political interference’ in Egyptian football, in the wake of the death of 74 fans in riots following a midweek domestic match. “In Egypt, football has been victim of political interference,” he said late on Friday at the opening of a Conmebol meeting in Paraguay. “We cannot accept it. Football is for the people, the youth, to offer emotion and hope. We will never accept that it be used for political ends.” FIFA has previously suspended a number of national football federations it suspected of having been subject to political interference, banning them from regional and international competition. Blatter said clashes between fans of Al-Masry and Al-Ahly in Port Said on Wednesday that left 74 people dead was a “black day for football” and should not have happened.